Parkin of the North

Towards the bank end of November having digested the memorable, albeit a little over-complex, fiftieth anniversary episode of Doctor Who I elected to make something suitably fortifying to keep my energy levels up in the form of Parkin.

I had rediscovered my love for Parkin the previous summer when I received some from some good friends based in Shipley as part of a Yorkshire Hamper that they very kindly got me for my birthday present. I tried with this recipe to emulate the excellent Parkin I found in the Yorkshire Hamper.

I stirred together in a mixing bowl four ounces of self-raising flour, four ounces of porridge oats, four ounces of caster sugar and one teaspoon of ginger. Next I stirred in four ounces of margarine, which I had first allowed to get to room temperature so it was easier to mix in, which made the mixture resemble a thick paste. In order to soften up the ingredients a little I added a tablespoon of Golden Syrup, a beaten egg and a tablespoon of milk and stirred them all into the mixture. Once all the elements were properly stirred together I put them in a high-sided thoroughly greased baking tray and cooked them for 20 minutes at 170 degrees, or 180 degrees for non-fan ovens.

After turning the Parkin out onto a wire rack and letting it cool I cut it into medium-sized squares to prepare it for consumption. Its taste was sweet due to the syrup and sugar but also a little stodgy due to the flour and the oats which made it perfect material to fuel long winter walks with my dog.

                                     
                                          Thick, full of oats and ready to eat.

Risotto from the East

Yesterday was a funny old day but one that was typical of how I have spent a lot of January days over the years as during the preceding week I had picked up a bit of a chest infection that had caused me to have a rare day off work and this weekend had still laid me low and disrupted my plans.

Apart from a quick and necessary trip to the hairdressers and a short walk round the block with my dog to try and get my bearings, I was stuck inside. However this didn't stop me from trying out a new cooking project and to help me overcome illness I opted for a risotto using several infection- busting ingredients.

I needed some bright and positive music from my record collection to help me get in the right frame of mind to cook and looked no further than Stevie Wonder's 1976 masterpiece 'Songs in the Key of Life". The album is one the best of all time and you cannot help but love Wonder's infectious enthusiasm for the music and lyrics that comes across throughout its duration. It has everything from infectious funk ("I Wish" "As") to strong and emotive ballads ("Have a talk with God" "Joy Inside My Tears").

I peeled and cut finely a two inch by one inch piece of Ginger Root and then finely sliced two large Garlic bulbs after first topping and tailing the Garlic bulbs. These powerful and tasting fresh ingredients were just the sort of thing to cut through my blocked- up synapses. I then took a bunch of Spring Onions, washed the dirt from them and then cut the bottom parts and the superfluous long stems forming the top parts off them.

I added the ingredients to a frying pan I had first covered the base of with sunflower oil and fried them for around fifteen minutes with half a teaspoon of black pepper, two teaspoons of ground Coriander and the juice of one Lime. Having eaten at numerous oriental restaurants over the years I have found that Lime is a key ingredient of many dishes.

After around fifteen minutes I added eight ounces of risotto rice and stirred it thoroughly into the other ingredients for one minute. I also at this time poured half teaspoon of Soy Sauce into the ingredients. I then added half a pint of vegetable stock and mixed it continuously into the other ingredients. I repeated this trick with a further three half-pints of stock until the rice became soft and bloated but there was still enough liquid in the pan for the ingredients to float in.

The risotto was now ready and I served it with a side dish of Prawn Crackers. The unique, soft taste of the Prawn Crackers coupled with the strong flavours of the Spring Onions, Ginger, Garlic and Lime plus the rich rice and stock made this a dish with plenty of strength and also protein to help me start to shake off my traditional January illness.

The Risotto featuring some tasty Prawn Crackers

 

Boxing Day Clever

On Boxing Day it's a tradition in our house to have my grandparents over for a meal. As they're both in their eighties and my granddad is now diabetic it has become a little more difficult to prepare a healthy meal for him that he can still enjoy.

However this Boxing Day I was able to achieve this objective. The albums that provided the soundtrack to the preparation were Scott Walker's early seventies country rock excursions "Stretch" and "We had it all" which I had recently bought on a CD reissue which grouped them both together. Although some of it was cheesy MOR music the presence of Walker's un-matchless and rich voice lifted both albums above the ordinary.

The first part of the meal involved making a Yorkshire Pudding mixture using four ounces of flour, half a pint of milk and three ounces of dried sage all of which I stirred together and left in a mixing bowl to set.

I then took my Le Cresceut dish and soaked the bottom with olive oil. I next topped and tailed five carrots, peeled them and diced them. I did the same with three large parsnips and lightly fried them in the Le Cresceut dish with some fresh thyme leaves for around twenty minutes until the carrots and parsnips began to soften and could be cut into fairly easily with the edge of a tablespoon.

While the vegetables fried I topped, tailed and peeled ten shallots before slicing them thinly and adding them to the Le Cresceut dish. I proceeded to fry them until they became transparent and made sure I stirred regularly the contents of the dish to prevent it from sticking to the bottom.

I then added five frozen vegetarian sausages which were fried for twenty minutes, which was about the same length of time it took for the shallots and the other vegetables to be properly cooked.

While the root vegetables and sausages cooked in the Le Cresceut I boiled ten ounces of red lentils in a pan for around fifteen minutes until they were soft and had turned a pale yellow, which indicated they were cooked properly. I drained the lentils and added them to the Le Cresceut dish together with a pint of vegetable stock, as by now the root vegetables had softened enough to have liquid added to them. I then slowly stewed on the hob the dish for thirty minutes adding some frozen peas as I did so.

At the same time as adding the lentils and vegetable stock to the Le Cresceut I put the Yorkshire Pudding mixture into an oiled baking dish and cooked it in the oven at 210 degrees (220 for non-fan ovens) for 30 minutes which meant that that casserole I had created in the Le Cresceut and the Yorkshire Pudding were ready at the same time.

The resulting dish provided a rich and filling meal that contained enough ingredients to allow my grandad to enjoy it with the rest of the family and importantly have a meal that was of the traditional type that he enjoys but which is also very good for his health.

Casserole and Yorkshire Pudding: all for a Boxing Day Tea.